Tower to control: ''The Aviator'' is cleared for takeoff. Finally. Over the years, several director-actor pairs have toyed with bringing the life of mogul Howard Hughes to the screen -- among them, Christopher Nolan and Jim Carrey, Milos Forman and Edward Norton, and Warren Beatty and...Warren Beatty. But the first team to take flight is Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, reuniting after winning critical plaudits with ''Gangs of New York.'' ''We tend to think of Howard Hughes near the end of his life in Las Vegas, the recluse, et cetera,'' says Scorsese, referring to Hughes' final career incarnation as a casino boss. ''This deals with him as a vibrant young man changing the world and fighting a disease that he didn't know he had: obsessive-compulsive disorder.'' The film also promises to detail Hughes' famous romantic conquests: Cate Blanchett plays Katharine Hepburn and Kate Beckinsale appears as Ava Gardner (Jude Law, meanwhile, shows up as Errol Flynn). ''It's terrifying to play a real person, especially one as beloved as Ava Gardner,'' Beckinsale says, ''because you know there's going to be 15 billion people going 'You completely got it wrong!'''

The film's time span means we'll see DiCaprio age from 26 to 46. ''He goes from this extraordinarily handsome young man, full of life, to a man who's tortured by his own shortcomings,'' says Scorsese, who adds that he and DiCaprio now have a special shorthand together. ''It's almost getting like telepathy,'' says the director. The two other actors with whom Scorsese says he shares such a bond? ''De Niro and Keitel.''

EW says the picture will be released December 17th. mark your calendars.

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Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Dec 17 -- looking to be the most important film day this year on my calendar

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Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary: the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

....yeah, but knock on wood. With the way things are going, it might happen.

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Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary: the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Miramax Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein was quoted Sunday as blaming the timing of the release of "Cold Mountain" for the film's failure to win an Oscar nomination in the best picture category.

In interviews with Time and Newsweek, Weinstein said he opened the highly acclaimed Civil War epic starring Nicole Kidman and Jude Law at Christmas time so that Oscar nominations would fuel box office sales.

"With the early (Oscar voting) this year, we fell short. There's a lot to do for Academy members and I don't know how many members we got to. We just plain ran out of people who had seen this movie," Weinstein told Time magazine, which hits newsstands on February 2. (Time magazine is a unit of Time Warner, as is CNN.)

But "Cold Mountain" did win seven other Oscar nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences including best actor for Jude Law and best supporting actress for Renee Zellweger.

It is the first time in 12 years that Walt Disney Co.'s Miramax does not have a best picture nominee at the Oscars but the studio still racked up the most nominations of any studio -- 15 -- for the third year in a row.

Citing the fact that the Oscars will be held in February this year instead of March, Weinstein told Newsweek, "I think the whole positioning of movies has changed because of this." Other than "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," every best-picture nominee was released prior to December, he said.

As a result, Weinstein said Miramax would move up the release of J.M. Barrie's "Neverland" starring Johnny Depp to October and would aim to release Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" in November instead of late December.

Weinstein also told Time that he will be directing his own film "pretty soon, probably the fall." He said the script is finished and the film will be produced by Martin Scorsese and Anthony Minghella, who directed "Cold Mountain."

hey thats the ticket! get this through your fat skull, A YEAR is 12 MONTHS LONG. DONT PUT OUT ALL THE GOOD MOVIES IN THE LAST 20 DAYS! haha, did he ever consider that since it managed to rack up 7 nominations, that everyone did get to see it, they just didnt think it was Best Picture material?

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Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.